Envelope Accordion Album

An Accordion Album is fun to make. All you need are some envelopes and some cardstock!

"Letters are expectation packaged in an envelope.
~Shana Alexander, American journalist, editor, host and teacher"

One day when I had some time to craft, I gave in to the strongest inspiration to make a little accordion album to house all the lovely contact cards people from a forum I belong to have been giving me. I cast around in my mind for an idea until someone asked me how they could use up some envelopes in a creative way, and suddenly the two ideas sprang together in my mind, and some hours later here is the result. I actually used 12 envelopes to make this wallet-sized keeper.

It really does not take much else in the way of supplies to make this little Accordion Album. You will need one 12 x 12 sheet of designer paper and one A4 sized piece of cardstock and there will still be leftovers.

You Will Also Need:

• Twelve envelopes, all the same size, that you can seal shut
• Ribbon, Velcro dot fastener, other embellishments as desired

Money-saving tips

Make some original paper flowers to decorate your own keeper once it is made. Consider if you could recycle some envelopes you have been sent in the mail. Some of the writing and stamps could show, but you may like that look.

If you do not have enough envelopes of the right size, you can make your own and customise them completely!

Here's What to do:

• Seal all the envelopes up. Then measure what you want to keep in the envelopes and cut off one end of each envelope to allow your items to fit comfortably inside and still be able to be pulled out. Make sure the envelopes are all the same length

  

• Stack the envelopes together and start adhering them to each other by placing a single row of double sided tape down the middle of one, then sticking it to the middle of another. Keep sticking envelopes together until you have formed your accordion

  

  

• Now make a cover for your project. I used Crumb Cake cardstock for mine. It's a lovely neutral shade. Lay the envelopes down on a piece of A4 cardstock and cut a strip lengthwise to fit. Allow the edges of the cardstock to overlap the pockets a little to help protect them

  

• Adhere the first pocket to the back of your cover, using plenty of double sided tape or sticky strip
• Adhere the last envelope to the front of the cover, allowing room for expansion
  There's an example of a variation of this accordion album for you to see at Susan's Saga. It is a slightly larger version.
• Score a line along the spine close to the adhered pockets, then score a line about double the width of all the envelopes to allow for the pockets to expand when filled

  

  

• Score a line along the top of the last pocket and fold the remainder over, scoring appropriately, to form a flap
• The A4 cardstock sheet was not long enough to form a proper flap that I liked, so I cut more cardstock the same width and adhered it to the top of the flap with strong adhesive (sticky strip)

  

  

  

• Now you are ready to decorate your wallet full of pockets!

Stampin' Up! Supplies List for Decorating

I made my own flower embellishment by punching out shapes and spritzing them with shimmer paint, then used Blueberry Crisp designer paper both to cover the inside and outside of my wallet, then added Old Olive 1/2" grosgrain ribbon and 1/2" Chantilly crochet trim, with some cute little Bitty Buttons and punched shapes to enhance the title along the spine.

I inked along the exposed edges with Not Quite Navy ink and also added some of that ink to my flower and leaves (leaves made from Old Olive cardstock).

I finished the whole thing off by adding a Velcro Dot fastener to hold the flap closed and adding some rhinestone bling.

I love how it turned out.

I hope you are now inspired to make one of these little Accordion Albums too. And if you make one, please do share how it turned out by using the form below :)

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